Does Pete Rose Deserve to Be in Pro Baseball the Hall of Fame?

Pete Rose began his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1963; but was signed as an amateur free agent in 1960; the scouting reporters of his time heralded him as a player that can change the momentum of a game due to his offensive playmaking ability. In 1963 Pete Rose won the Rookie of the Year Award hands down, it was apparent that he was going to be one of those players who would immediately make an impact on the game. Pete Rose led the league in hits seven times in his 24 year career, and was a Cincinnati favorite for many years; he could do no wrong while he was playing for this great baseball town.

During his Major League career Pete Rose would play for two other teams in the National League. When Pete Rose played for the Philadelphia Phillies the fans were happy to have him on their team, as a matter pf fact they welcomed him with open arms. Charlie Hustle was always a gambling man when it came to stealing bases; he was not shy about how he did it. Pete Rose brash style of play is what baseball fans loved; his base style running would put catchers literally flat on their behinds.

But Charlie Hustle would soon let his fame come in-between his good judgment, anyone that was associated with Pete Rose knew that he was a gambling man, but many of his teammates did not know the extent of his gambling endeavors and activities. When Pete Rose began to place bets on his team, and also placing odd bets against his own team, this was the beginning of his trouble. Pete was not making legitimate Las Vegas bets, he was betting outside of the legal arena, which made his activity scrutinized and questioned by the Major League Committee and organization.

After many years of contemplation on his gambling woes, Pete Rose finally admitted to his illegal betting on Major League games. The ironic thing about Pete Rose illegal betting - was that if he was not ratted out he could have gone on with his illegal course of betting for many years. Indeed, Charlie Hustle did place bets on Major League games, but he was not alone in his illegal money making activity, till this day, no one knows who his counterparts were, and we may never know the true origin of how it all began. One thing is for sure, Charlie Hustle got his groove on at the same time living a double life, and this is one of the reasons why he will never get into the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame.